Today is the 10th annual Safer Internet Day, organised by international association, Insafe, in February each year to promote safer and more responsible use of online technology and mobile phones, especially amongst children. This year’s theme focuses on online rights and responsibilities, designed to encourage users to 'connect with respect'.

Welcoming the initiative David Rowe, CISSP, a member of the Infosecurity Europe Advisory Council and head of business services for the annual information security show, says European Union support – with programmes taking place in schools and workplaces across Europe – will greatly encourage the success of Safer Internet Day this year: “In 2010, the EU sponsored a Safer Internet Day survey that found 50% of Europe's teenagers are posting personal information on the web without being aware of the consequences. And in 2009, the EU liased with 18 internet firms to develop safeguards on a total of 25 social networking sites, including Facebook, MySpace and YouTube,” he said.

Security provider Barracuda Networks, is offering free advice to users of social networks on how to protect themselves from attack on Facebook and Twitter, where so-called “drive-by-downloads” are particularly aggressive. Access Barracuda Network’s free tool, Profile Protector, at www.profileprotector.com

Facebook security information: http://www.facebook.com/security?v=app_4949752878

Twitter security guidelines: https://support.twitter.com/articles/31796

For more information on Safer Internet Day: http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/activities/sip/index_en.htm

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